the Crank Weekly

Thursday, March 27, 2008

What are you looking for?

Recently I was fortunate enough to visit Portland and attend the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. I think I posted about it last week if the title of this blog is correct. When I was there I visited w/ a friend of mine that relocated to Vancouver, WA over 10 years ago. Even though he is not a cyclist but loves macs I still consider him a really good friend. It didn't take too long before I had to bring up cycling and how cyclists seemed to fit in to traffic very well. They do have bike lanes but even in Portland, OR there are places that don't have bike lanes. He said that it took awhile but after a couple months he began to realize cyclists were just another part of traffic. It wasn't car against bike, motor against human power but everyone fighting to get to work on time or get their kids to a soccer game or cello lessons. Bikes, cars, motorcycles, semi-trucks, Fords, Chevys and even 1996 Buick Roadmasters are all part of traffic. We all move as one. After time he realized that he had to look for all traffic. Not just motorized vehicles but everyone that is on the road. We all have the right to use the roads. As cyclists we don't have any more rights than a motorist.